Title: The Perfect Shade
Author: Sicilian Maiden
Pairing: Narumi Ayumu/Yuizaki Hiyono
Fandom: Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna
Theme: #19—red
Rating: G
Disclaimer: All characters of Spiral are the property of Kyou Shirodaira; I allege no possession of said characters. I only request to take them to over-rowdy soccer games and force them to play at gunpoint.
Summary: He liked her lips just the way they were.
-o-
What was it with women and lipstick? It was a question that had been plaguing Narumi Ayumu's mind for the last forty-five minutes. Whatever the answer was, he wanted to know it now.
"Ayumu?" The question was innocent enough but he could decipher the hidden message underneath that sweet voice. She was going to ask him a question that he was likely to say 'no' to. The duo was currently in the local mall doing what else? Shopping. Ayumu could take shopping for a good two hours maximum but that all changed when Hiyono steered him to the dreaded cosmetic counter.
The proverbial watering hole for women was crowded with the female species all ogling at endless supplies perfumes, eyeshadow, mascara, blush, concealer, and that (as far as he was concerned) "devil" product, lipstick. Madoka had seemed obsessed with the colorful stuff and always had a tube with her. He did not want Hiyono to fall prey to the horrible curse of lipstick.
Finding that the honey-eyed girl next to him moving slowly to the counter as though it were a magnet, panic started to rise in the young man.
"Um... what is it Hiyono?" he dared to ask knowing that he'd probably regret it later.
"Can we go look, please?" Hiyono practically begged. She threw in the puppy dog eyes as a precaution. Watching those sparkling caramel eyes, Ayumu found being suckered in to allowing her to go. Quickly, before he lost himself, he snapped, "No." It was as simple as that.
A wave of relief flooded Ayumu's senses when he realized how easy it had been. Hiyono humphed in mock sadness before grabbing the young brunette's hand and yanking him over to the counter.
"H-Hiyono! What part of 'no' didn't you understand?" Ayumu nearly screamed at the young girl. He had been sure she spoke the same language as him and understood it quite well. So why hadn't she turned the other way?
"I guess..." she stopped to think, "not the part you wanted me to." With that, she pulled the panic-stricken male the rest of the way. In some way, the scene felt like something you'd watch on Animal Planet. All they needed was some armature animal enthusiast shouting out incredibly stupid lines.
"Blimey, look at that hungry female pulling her prey into the jaws of her trap! He's struggling pretty well but I've got a feeling she isn't gonna give up any time soon. It's the way of nature folks!"
Oh yeah, this was a day he'd never forget.
Once there, Ayumu reeled away from Hiyono. The hyperactive young woman pulled out a single tube of lipstick, took of the cap, and admired the deep, mahogany color. Applying a little to her lips, Hiyono gazed at her reflection in the small, magnified mirror. She shook her head in disapproval at the shade before wiping it off with a kleenex and moving on to a lighter damask red.
Nope.
Cherry? Too bright.
Burgundy? Too deep.
Claret? Too dark.
Ayumu was starting to lose his patience. How many different shades did she have to go through? It was miraculous that their even were this many distinctive hues of red. While he thought it somewhat interesting that cosmetologists could think of so many colors, the idea of waiting for Hiyono to pick the right one was infuriating. He sighed in defeat when he realized she was still looking.
Coral? Too pink.
Magenta? Too purply.
Garnet? No.
Maroon? Um... not exactly her shade.
Pillar-box red? Way too bright.
Scarlet...
"Okay," Ayumu found that he needed to voice his opinion. Plucking the tube of lipstick from Hiyono's grasp, he continued, "enough is enough. We are through shopping for mindless products. I don't know why you need this stuff," he said motioning to the basket of make-up, "You look fine just the way you are."
Hiyono's eyes widened and a pinkish flush bloomed across her cheeks. Ayumu had never spoken to her like this before. Sure, they'd already graduated high school so they had known each other for a little over three years but in that span of time, he had never really complemented her.
"Y-you think so?"
A gentle, soothing smile graced his lips as Ayumu approached the dumbfounded girl. His eyes warmed immensely, his peacefully content gaze watching her.
"I do," he replied. He didn't know where this was coming from; these feelings he hadn't felt in a very long time; but he didn't want to stop himself. He knew what the consequences of his actions might be but he couldn't help himself from continuing, "Your lips are fine just the way they are. In fact..."
Hiyono felt a giddy bubble work its way up her throat—it was like she was holding in an inevitable scream of joy. Ayumu placed a finger under her chin titling her face upward to meet his burning chocolate eyes. With a small dip of his head, his lips claimed hers in a heartbreakingly tender kiss.
Yes they were in public, and yes people were watching the young couple but neither of them seemed to care. Ayumu relished in the feeling of how soft her lips were. His eyes watched Hiyono's caramel pools slide close before his did as well.
The two felt as if they were in their own little world; nothing but them and time. The kiss continued building in its intensity. Sluggishly pulling away in fear of losing himself entirely, Ayumu retracted back to regain air. His eyes slowly opened to see that Hiyono had yet to move from her spot. Her face was flushed, her eyes still closed. And those silky lips that he had come to love in the last few minutes were bruised slightly from their previous actions.
Hiyono's eyelids fluttered open revealing honey-colored orbs streaming with emotions. A small sigh escaped her swollen lips before she placed her arms around Ayumu's thin waist. She could feel the toned muscles under his black turtleneck. Though they weren't bulgy, she knew what sort of strength they held.
Ayumu slipped his arms around her shoulders pulling her closer to him—if that was even possible. The two held each other closely. The young brunette was about to say something when a shout echoed across the cosmetic department.
"Hey you two! Get a room!" That voice undoubtedly belonged to none other than the annoying redhead, Asazuki Kousuke. Following the yell, a resounding smack was heard resulting in a rather loud curse.
Hiyono giggled, pulling away from Ayumu just in time to see three silhouettes make their way over to the newly formed couple. A tall boy with red spiky hair, identified as Kousuke, was rubbing his head, a painful expression written on his face. Next to him was an evenly tall girl, her hazel eyes glaring menacingly at the redhead. In her hand was a rolled up magazine.
"Geez Ryouko, you didn't have to be so mean," whined Kousuke. Takamachi Ryouko whapped said whiner on head again with the rolled up paper as if her were a misbehaving dog. The other figure, a much smaller girl, giggled at the scene before her. Long, silver hair was pulled up in two pigtails, her favorite bunny bag strapped to her back.
"Oi Rio! It wasn't that funny," snapped the wounded male. Takeuchi Rio could only laugh harder as Ryouko smacked Kousuke one the head once more for good measure before discarding the ruined magazine.
Ignoring the rather obnoxious complaints, Ryouko smiled at Hiyono. "So," the track star turned her eyes to Ayumu, "what are you two doing here?"
"Just shopping," Hiyono replied, her gaze catching Ayumu's. He smiled back at her.
Rio piped in, "You think we could join you?" The silver-haired girl walked over to Hiyono, her head tilted to one side. Hiyono chuckled before answering, "Sure, why not."
The five friends wandered down the long building looking at small stores. Ayumu's hand found Hiyono's and the two walked closely together still seemingly oblivious to their surroundings.
Maybe shopping wasn't so bad.
-o-
All done! This story was inspired by events that took place last week. My mom wanted to go to the mall for some odd reason and should wouldn't tell us why. We just figured she wanted to window-shop or something but no... it was like the shopping excursion from HELL!! My brother and I split right after my mom walked up to the cosmetic counter and started looking at lipstick. We were like, "Sees ya later. We're so outta here!" My poor padre was stuck shopping with my mom and he hasn't been the same since. Okay, not really but that poor man was stuck with my mom for over an hour looking a different shades of red. Red!! My goodness, how many different shades can there be!?
Anyway, done ranting now... let's just say, don't ever go shopping with my mom. It's like five hours of your like you're never getting back. And in a side note, no, I'm not making fun of Steve Irwin during the whole Animal Planet thing. I loved that guy so I'd never poke fun at him.
Thanks so much for the reviews, they mean a lot to me. I love you all!
Sony89 : Thank you so much! You're making me blush... and from a fellow Spiral author too? I read You can't always be strong and I absolutely loved it! Here's the next chapter...
Juuroku-sama : Thank you! Right now, this is my only Spiral fic but I hope I get the chance to write more.
4thFromTheFurnace : OMG! That was one heck of a review! I read your story, Kiss The Cook and it was so kawaii! (please update soon) nudge, nudge XD I'm glad that you like my story so much. I totally agree with you. I'm like, "Kiss her already Mr. Dense-Man!" I hope you like this new Kiss.
Saiyuki729 : Thank you for the compliment! I'm blushing... really! Here's the update...
Prodigy Keyblade Wielder : I'm glad you liked it. Sorry if Ayumu seemed OOC in the last story. I know he seemed OOC in this too but I couldn't help it. I tried to make it as fluffy as I could without Ayumu proclaiming his love outright and drooling at Hiyono's feet.
Keep a look out for the next kiss! Oh, and school is starting to pick back up (dang it!) so there might be a short delay with the next story. Sorry! I promise to update as soon as possible. (...wait for it... ASAP, I get it now!) O.o
Ciao Bello!